Microsoft Adds Motion Sensor, Twitter, Facebook to Xbox 360

LOS ANGELES – Microsoft Corp plans to boost social and entertainment features on its Xbox 360 gaming console by integrating music-streaming service Last.fm, Web social network Facebook and microblogging site Twitter into its Xbox Live online community.

[The company also debuted a motion sensor that let users play games simply by moving their bodies — all without having to hold a controller, unlike the Wii.]

Users of Xbox Live will be able to keep tabs on and communicate with friends using those popular Internet services, without needing to use a computer.

The move, announced on Monday, broadens Microsoft's goal of transforming the console system — a distant No. 2 to Nintendo's Wii machine — into the center of the living room and more than just a game-playing box.

The announcement came at E3, the annual video game conference in Los Angeles, where Microsoft also unveiled new games that will play on the game system.

"This expands the reach of Xbox live," said Shane Kim, Microsoft's vice president of strategy and business development for videogames. "We have had an effort of making Xbox live a next-generation social and entertainment network.